System of regulation for generators and burners.



N0- 841,'760. PATENTED IAN. 22, 1907.

ALA. BALL, JR. SYSTEM OF REGULATION FOR GENERATORS AND BURNERS.

. APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 9,19o1.'

witness es: I inQenbort, a a 'y ugusbusp Dal I Jr:

YMM II. fitt y.

a citizen of the United States, residing Lynn, county of-Essex, State ofMassachu- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE...

AUGUSTUS A. BALL, J Ri, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS,- ASSIGNOR TO GENERALELECTRIC COMPANY, A

CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SYSTEM OF HEGULATION'FOFIR GENEIFIATOIIRS AND BURNERS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUeUs'rUs A. BALL, Jr., at

setts, have invented certain new-and useful Improvements in Systems ofRegulation for Generators and Burners, of which the following is aspecification.

11 operating. generators of the flasher type the amounto water suppliedthereto isvaried by a suitable regulator in accordance.

chamber, respectively, and theoreticallysuch'a device should giveperfect regulation, but in actual practice it does not because of thelag between the supply of fuel to the fire chamber and the utilizationof the heat units contained therein. ber of causes. In the first place,the metal of which the generator is composed takes an a preciable timeto absorb heat, and time is a so consumed in raising the temperature ofthe water. Again, the complete combustion of the fuel requires time. Theloss due to radiation is comparativelg l constant. Consequently theamount of el consumed does not decrease directly in proportion to thereduction in steam consumption. In other Words, the ratio between thesteam consumed and the fuel supplied is a variable one. Theoreticallyspeaking,v a certain quantity of hydrocarbon fuel-such as kerosene, forexamplecontains a given number of heat units,

and therefore a given consumption should produce a definite amount ofsteam; but with 4 the commercial article the number of heat unitsvaries, so that .it becomes necessary to compensate for it, as well asfor the other features above ointed out The object o my inventlon is toovercome the objections above pointed out and at'the same time sup 1 thegenerator and burner with water ancffilel in such amounts as willproduce steam in: an eflicient manner.

In carrying out my invention two differentially-acting. means areprovided, one for f-the water, :the other for the fuel. These means maytake the form of valves which are preferably so set that when thesteam-gener- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 9,1901. Serial No. "Fifi 1:2.

This lag is due to a num- Patented can. 22. 1907. I

ator is. cold, or relatively so, the Water-controllin valve is closedWhile the fuel-control- 'lin va ve is admitting the maximum amount of elto the fire-chamber.

I consider a fuel that may be burned either as a liquid or as a gas tobethe best and in describlng my invention shall do so in connection with asystem of that character; but

nothing herein is to be construed as limiting the invention in itsbroadest aspect to any particular kind of fuel, or to any s ecific meansfor sufpplying it to the fire-chem er, or

to any speci c type of generator. '1,

Considering the invention-more specific ally,

a thermostat or thermostats are employed to control the action of thevalves or other supply-regulating means. The thermostat or thermostatsare so located tha it or they are acted upon by the fire-gases after thelate ter have passed the generator and have had a large number of heatunits abstractedtherefrom. 'l he exact position of the thermostat isimmaterial so long as it is acted upon by the firegases after they havepassed the whole or a part of-the generator.

may be located so that practically all of the fire-gases pass through ornear it, orit may be I so located that only a shunted portion of thefire-gases affect it.

Other novel features of importance in my invention will be fullydescribed and claimed hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawing is illustrated, diagrammatically, anembodiment of my invention suitable for use with any system wherein itsis desired to automatically regulate the sup ly of water and fuel to agenerator and e-chamber, but designed more especially for use inconnection with automobile regulation.

In the drawing, 1 represents agenerator or flash-boiler of any suitableconstruction. In

the present instance it is shown as consisting of a coil of pipesurrounded by an inclosure 2. Situated below the generator is a burner 3of any suitable construction. In the. present instance it is inten'dedthat the burner shall operate satisfactorily when supplied with ahydrocarbon fuelsuch a's kerosene or kerosene vapor, for example.Situated above the generator and in such position thatit is acted uponby all or aportion of the firegases is a thermostat 4. This thermostatconsists of a sealed chamber containing some 600 Fahrenheit.

sort of a fluid. I have found that kerosene will work satisfactorily forthis purpose,

since the tem erature may be increased to 600 or 700 ahrenheit withoutcarbonizing or forming permanent ases. The use of kerosene as a fluid int 1e thermostat also possesses certain other advantages, as it hasrather a high boilingointabout 355 Fahrenheit. Consequent y thetemperature of the fire-gases has to rise considerably before thekerosene is volatilized. On the other hand, when once volatilized itspressure rises rapidly. The rapid increase in pressure gives thenecessary power to oper ate the valve or valves and overcome thefriction of the moving parts. A sli ht change in temperature ives aconsidera le variation in pressure. he thermostat may also be workedwith nitrogen gas, alcohol, air, a combination of oils, orWat-erf Thelast-mentioned is somewhat objectionable,

however, in that it is liable to freeze if the fire is put out and thethermostat is ex 'osed to the cold weather. The thermostat s ould beadjusted to work within changes of 40 to 50 in temperature and should beso located as to be unaffected by outside influences. In order toprevent the thermostat from being affected by these influences, I preferto locate the valves which are under its control near the generator, sothat short pipes may be employed, and, preferabl these should be ofsmall diameter. Good resultscan be attained, however, if thevariousparts are somewhat remote irom each other .and the generator. Thethermostat will Work very satisfactorily if the temperature of thefiregases be ma ntained anywhere from 300 to In other words, thefiregases can be maintained at 300, at 600, or

at any intermediate point. -The invention,"

however, is not limited to any particular range, of temperatures. I havemerely stated What I have found to be. satisfactory for certain kinds ofwork. The metal of which the thermostat is composed being rel ativ el Ithin, the tern erature of the medium within it will be su stantially thesame as that of the fire-gases and is of course dependent upon thelocation of the thermostat with respect to the fire-gases and the bodyor bodies heated thereby.

In order to supply the necessary medium to the thermostat, a valvedopening 4' is provided, through which it ma be admitted, after which theo ening is sea ed in an suitable manner. T e thermostat shoul be solocated that it will be acted u on by the fireases after a large number0 the heat un ts ave been abstracted by the generator or boiler. Thearrangement illustrated will be found to be a satisfactory one; but forcer tain classes of work it may be found desirable to so ppsition thethermostat that it is acted upon y only a limited amount of the firebevarie ases. t ie so arranged that the fire-gases are shunted or otherwse conveyed around the thermostat.- The upper end casing is providedwith a chamber 5, into which fire-gases pass, and this chambercommunicates with the flue 6, the latter being opened to and bottom.

Water is supplied to the generator from the tank 7 and fuel to theburner from the tank 8-, umps 9 and 10 being employed to furnish t enecessary pressure. These pumps in the present instance are drivendirect b the engine 11, or they may be driven throug gearing or beltedconnections, so that changes in speed of the engine will correspondinglyaffect both of the pumps. be driven from a separate source of power orthey may have individual driving means. The engine maybe of any suitablecharacter and arran ed to drive a vehicle or furnish power, as

esired. The fuel-pump 10 is connected to the fuel-tank by a suitablepipe and is provided with the usual suction and delivery valves.Extending from the pump to the fuel-admitting nozzle 12 is a pipe 13,and the ressure therein mafor example,

(i from twenty to eiglit pending upon the system. In circuit with thepipe 1 3 is a by-pass regulator 14, of novel construction, which formsthe subject-m atter of apatent to me dated May 5, 1903, and numbered726,841. The delivery of fuel is normally controlled by thespring-pressed valves 15 and 16; but when for any reason theback,pressure on the burner increases to a point where it overcomes-theadjustable s ring 17 the valve 18 will open and permit In the latterinstance the parts would of the steam-generator The pumps may y pounds,de-

t e fuel from the pipe 13 to flowthrough the valve 18 into the pipe 19,thence back to thetank. The valve 1.8 being balanced is not affected bythe normal flow of'liquid through the pipe 13; but as soon as the backpressure from the burner increases to a point where it overcomes thespring it opens and relieves the load on the pump, for, racticallyspeaking, no effort is require to convey fuel through the pipe 13 andback. through the pipe 19, the parts being comparatively small and beingtank.

In order to insure the proper supply of fuel located in close proximityto the to the burner under varying conditions, an

accumulator 20 is em loyed, and this is connected in circuit witli thepump and regulator by the pipe 21. This accumulator preferably containsair or other elastic medium under pressure, and in order to furnish theinitial pressure a valved opening 22 is provided, to which an ordinaryair-pump may be secured. As shown, the accumulator is supposed to beunder about twenty pounds air-pressure, and the fuel occupies only avery small space thereinv The dotted line at the top represents thecondition when the IIO .. valve 33, thelatter being acted upon by thetuated by the other.

pressure has been increased to about eighty ounds per square inch. Thedelivery ofel from the accumulator to the pipe 13 is controlled byiavalve 23, the latter being acthe diaphragm-is an adjustablespring-pressed plunger 25, that tends at all times to' hold the valve inthe closed position. The admission of fuel to the accumulator is alsocontrolled by the manually-actuated valve 26. Leading from the pipe 21to the accumulator side ofthe diaphragm is a short pipe containing aninwardly-opening check-valve 40, So

long as the pressure in the accumulator is below a predetermined pointthe valve 23 will remain closed; but as soon as it exceeds that pointthe diaphragm is depressed, which opens the valve, and fuel flowsthrough the pipes 27 and 21 to thepip'e 13 and through the nozzle 12 tothe burner. The valve is closed at initial pressure and opens underaccumulator pressure. If it is desired to absolutely cut'thiaLccumulator out of action such, for example, as shutting down thesystem for a considerable period of ttime.the

-manually-actuated valve 26 may be closed.

This .will retain the fuel inthe accumulator under pressure, which maybeutilized starting'the system again into'operation,

Situated above the burnerjis a vaporizer 28 of any'suitable'construction. This vaporizer is connected to the nozzle 12,and the latter admits vapor to the burner. The ad mission of fuel to thenozzle is controlled by a valve 29, which isacted upon by two forces,

one being due to the s rin dia hra m and the ot er ue to thewpressurewit in t e thermostat '4, and isso set that it is wide open when thethermostat and other parts are cold, or relatively so. With thiscondition of affairs the total delivery offuel to the burner is limitedonly by the valve controlling the nozzle and the size of. the

pipes employed. In practice I prefer to make the orifice in the nozzlelimit the maximum output.

controlled by the pump 9, a regu ator 30, an accumulator 31, adiaphramactuated valve 32 for controlling the accumulator, and: a

thermostat 4 in one direction and a spring in same manner. Theconstruction of the-accumu'lator 31 and its controlling5valves'dif fersfrom the fuel-accumulator '20 only in size.

This difference in sizeis necessaryto supply the amount of water to thegenerator. The

inwardly-opening check-valve is numbered dium from escaping from theaccumulator,

bybeing entrained in the water, and also to prevent the interior of thechamberfrom a diaphragm 24. Situated below coated above the t e draft ofthe a The lay-pass regulator 3O isjthe same asthe regulator 14 andoperates lnthe suitable auxiliary. heating shown a the parts are col thefuel-valve 29 iswide on the fuel and water open, while'thewater-controlling valve 33 is c osed. Instead of using a singlethermostatcontrolling the operation of two separatelyadjustable valves Imay employ separate thermostats, or I may employ a sin le thermostatsimilar to the one shown, wit means for separating that portionof thefluid which actuates one valve from the fluid which actuates; the othervalve. The structure illustrated is somwhat simpler than the one justdescribed, and for that reason I prefer to use it.

The spring for actuating each valve is under compression by anadjustable nut 39, sleeved on the valve-stem. Said sprin constitutes amotive-power agency, and t e action of these agencies is oppose orcontrolled by the thermostat 4 and the diaphragms.

Steam from the generator is conveyed to. the en ine by the pipe 35, andthe engine is 'controfiedby-the throttle-valve'36. Located in the pipe35 is a safety-valve 37. Under ordinar conditions, with the fuel andwater control ing valves under the complete con trol of the thermostatthere would be no need for such a valve; ut in event of the thermostatbecoming disabled cause and the pressure in the enerator increasing toan excessively hig point the valve will open and relieve the system ofany dangerous pressure. I may connect this valve with the water-tank 7,vas indicated in dotted lines, so thatanydischar ed water will be savedand the steam utilize to assist in heating the feedwater. The exhaustfrom from any I r I the enginegis conveyed by the pipe 38through' Thesupply of water to the enerator 1s the chamberfi in the top of theeneratorcas 7 in and into the upwardly. an downwardly -o ening flue 6.

' This arrangement increases burner when the system is in operation.

The action of my'invention is as followst Assuming that the parts arecold and it is de-v sired to start the system into operation, a

device is first employed to heat the vaporizer 28. When this has beendone, the valve'26 is opened, permit,-. ting the fuel tel-flow from theaccumulator:20 or other source of supply through the pipe 13 andvaporizer 28 to the nozzle 12, where it will flow into the burner 3 andbetignited. The valve 29, being normally open when the .parts are cold,or relatively so, admits the maximium amount of'fuel. In the;mean timethe: valve 33, controllingthe admission 35 relation of affairs willexist until the proper of water to the boiler, remains closed, al-

Assuming the'valves to .3

As soon as steam is admitte in the tubes, apart of which is due to thecondensation of the steam left from the last run.-

The fuel-valve continues to admit the maximum amount of fuel to theburner until the temperature of the generator is materially increased.As the temperature increases less heat units will be absorbed, andconseqluently the temperature of the thermostat wi begin to increaserapidly, and as soon as it increases to a predetermined point the valve33 opens and admits water to the generator from the accumulator 31 orother source of supply until the proper ratio of the sup lies isreached.

5 to the engine the pumps 9 and 10 begin to operate and force water tothe generator and its accumulator and fuel to the burner and itsaccumulator, thus maintaining the supply. As the speed of the engineincreases thepressure on the accumulators will be raised to a maximumand the surplus .will return to the tanks by means of the by-passregulators. As soon as the back pressure on regulators 14 and 30 reachesthe maximum for which the regulators are set the load on the pumps ispractically cut off, thus efiectingjt saving in power.

positions and that for some reason the steamgenerator becomes relativelycold, the sup plfy; of water through-the valve 33 will be cut 0 ordecreased, while, on the otherhand, thesupply of fuel to the burner willbe increased byreason of the opening-of valve 29, and this temperatureof the parts has again been attained. If the generator increases intemperature beyond a certain point,the'su ply of fuel is automaticallycut down, while t e sup-- I with ,the arip ply of water is increased. gg

It will be seen that whereas other systems of control for the urpose ofcompensation simultaneously and automatically increase or decrease thesupply of-water and fuel in o th el 1s decreased and vice. versai; I

my improved system any changein tempers Y rapidly than in aturels'detected and compensated for"mo're any other with which am familiar.v

It will be seen that the invention includes primary and secondaryregulation. 2 In the present illustration of the invention 'the'thermostat formstheprima regulator and the valves the secondary. enviewed in" a more limited aspect, the invention includes;- a primary; asecondary, anda-tertiary regu regulator being the ther-; the secondary.lthethrottle valvesj lator, the primary mostat,

efiective delivenes of the pum' s. Between the secondary an I e inintermediate.

patent statutes n 7 given *dir'ection,

ary

lator's in both the fuel and liquid sup ly systems'is' placedanaccumulator WhlC when the secondary regulator closes or partially closesreceives a re'ater or less amount of fiuid and by sooing prevents thetertiaryregulator from operating under minor changes. In other words, acurve representing the operation of the system fitted. with accumulatorswould be smootherthan one without. The accumulator is very desirable,but may .be dispensed with under certainconditions, and'when the systemis I operated Without it the tertiary regulator may act at about thesame time as the secondary regulator, depending upon the conditions ofservice. The character bf the route traveled over and the load on thevehicle are important considerations in determining the action oftheseveral regulators. The invention is intended for use, moreespecially with automobiles, where the conditions are-constantly chaning. Hence the relation between one regui ator and another may changesomewhat, as Will be readily understood.

In using the term differential variations in the liquid and fuelsupplies I mean that under certain conditions of operation the regulatorwill momentarily increase the effective fuelsupply and decrease theefiective versa, in or er to uickly compensate for said changes. In oter words, instead of alwa s maintaining a fixed ratio between the fueand li uid sup les there are times when t the ratio 0 one to the otheris greater or less, de ending upon the n accordance with the provisionsof the I have described the prin- .ci le of operation of my invention,together aratus which I now consider to re resent t e bestembodimentthereof; but I desire to' have it understood thatthe ap afatus shown ismerely illustrative and t at the invention can be carried out by othermeans, What I claim as new, and desire to secure 'supply of li uid tothe vaporizer, and vice TOD condition of operation.

by Letters Patent. of the United States, is+

1. In combination, a generator, a fire chamber, a source of..water-suppl a regu- -'latingvalve therefor, means ten mg at-all times toclose the valve,-a source of fuel-sup- 1y a re lating-valve thereformeans tend-' ihg at alf t imes to open the valve, and means forcontrolling the action of the valves.

2. Incomb1nation,avalve,

a spring tendat all'ti'rnes. to open the valve, a second valve, 9. sgriI the secon va ve, and a meanscommon to both valves foropposing theiractions.

'- L3"; lncombination, a motive-power agency directly controlledthereby, andthe tertiary the relief or byass valves which reduce the asealed fluid-containing tending at all times to close chamber providedwith a diaphragm adjacent to and acting on each motive-power agency, anda thermostat for controlling the movements of said diaphragm.

4. In a system of regulation, the combination of a generator, afire-chamber, sources of water and fuel sup 1y, a thermostat located inthe fire-gases eyond the generator, a pair ofdifferentially-actingvalves control ling the water" and fuel supplies,and diaphragms acted upon by the thermostat for differentially movingthe valves.

5. In a system of regulation thecombination of a generator, a burner, awater-supply, a fuel-supply, pumps for increasing the pressure of thewater and fuel supplies, a by-pass regulator for each pump, anaccumulator for the water-supply, an accumulator for the fuel-supply,and means for controlling the action of the by-pass regulators and theaccumulators.

6. In combination, a generator, a burner, a thermostat comprisingaclosed vessel con- 7 i taining an elastic .medium, and locat'ed'inmotor;

8. In a system of regulation, the combination of a generator, afire-chamber,.a source of liquid-fuel supply, a valve for admittingwater to the generator which is initially closed, a valve for admittingfuel to the chamber which is initially open, a thermostat operatingsimultaneously on both valves, and a second valve acting on thefuel-supply to cut it off when the system is idle.

'9.. In a system of re ulation, the combination of a generator, a urner,a valve for admittin water to the generator, which is initially'c osed,a valve for admitting fuel to the burner'which is initially open, meansfor adj ustingthe valves'so that different pressures are required tooperate them, and a means for simultaneously acting on the valves in amanner to open one and close the other.

10. In combination, 'a generator, a burner, a water-pump, a fuel-pump, aby-pass regulator for the water-pump, a by-pass regulator for thefuel-pump, and a single thermostatic means which controls the action ofboth re ulators and through them the delivery 0% the pumps.

11. In combination, a generator, a burner, a source of water-supply, asource of fuelsupply, a normally closed valve controlling combination ofa generator a the wate'r-supplfy, a normally open valve controlling theuel-supply, springs for the valves, and a thermostat adapted to exert apressure to overcome the tension of the valve-springs only after it hasbeen raised to the predetermined temperature by the firegases.

12. In a systemof re lation, the combination of water and fuel supplies,individually-adjustable valves for regulating the supplies, and a meanscommon to the valves for actuating them. v

13. In combination, a boiler, a burner, pumps for supplying liquid tothe boiler and fuel to the burner, means for imparting simultaneousmovements to the pum s, bypass valves for the pumps, and a'tliermostatic means cooperating with the by-pass valves for varying thedeliveries of the Y 14. In combination, a boiler, a burner, umps forsupplying liquid to the boiler and uel to the burner, meansfor'imparting simultaneous movements to the pumps, by-

pass valves for the pumps, and a pressure device actm -on the valves forcausing corresponding di erential variations in the liquid l and fuelsupplies.

15. In a vapor-generating system, the combination of a receptacle, ameans for supplying liquid to the receptacle, a primary regulatorresponding to temperature changes, a secondary regulator acted upon bythe primary, and a tertiary re ulator which varies the effectivedelivery of said means.

16. In a system of supply, the combination of a receptacle, a means forsupplying liquid to the receptacle, a rimary regulator. a secondary relator un er the control of the primary, w 'ch throttles the fluid-suplyto a (greater or less extent, an accumuator, an a tertiary regulatorwhich may act at about the same time as the secondary re lator to varythe effective fluid-supply de ivered to the receptacle.

17. In a vapor-generatin system, the -chamber, a

means for supplyin 'liquid to the generator and fuel to the fire-camber, a'primary regulator, secondary regulators controlledby theprimary regulator, and tertiary regulators which coact with thesecondary regulators to.

vary the supplies from said means in response to changes of the primaryregulator.

18. In a system of supply,'the combination of a fluid-receivingreceptacle, a re ulator for controlling the admission of fiui to thereceptacle, an accumulator containing an elastic medium whichcompensates for small changes of the regulator, and another regulatorwhich may act when the pressure in the accumulator exceeds a certainamount to compensate for greater changes of the regulator. I g 19.In'combination,-a boiler, means containing a supply of fluid for theboiler under an initial pressure, means for storing an additionalpressure in said means, as the fluidressure in the boiler increases, andcontrolable means for controlling the delivery of fluid to the boiler. i

20. In combination, a boiler, a receptacle containin a supply of fluidunder an initial pressure or the boiler, a valve for storing additionalfluid under an increased ressure in the receptacle as the pressure in te boiler 'munication with said pressure-cylinder, subs'tantiall as setforth.

22. T e combination with the steam-generator having pipes in which steamis generated, of a water-supply pipe having a pressure-cylinder incommunication therewith and with the steam-pi es, a check-valve 111-terposed between sal cylinder and steampipc, and a relief-valve incomm'unication with said pressure-cylinder, substantially as set forth.

23. The combination of a generator, a firechamber, means for supplyingliquid to the generator including a pressure-controlled regulaton meansfor supplying fuel to the fire-chamber including a regulating device,

and means for exerting a differential control over thewater-regulatorand the fuel-regulating device. I

24. The combination of a generator, a firechamber, means for supplyingwater to the generator comprising a pump and a pressurecontrolledregulator, means for sup lying fuel to the generator including a fue-regulating device, and a means responsive to changes of temperature ina portion of the system which exerts a difi'erential control over thewater-regulator and the fuel-regulating device. I 4

25. The combination of a generator, means for supplying water to thegenerator including a bypass regulator, means for supplying fuel to thegenerator including a regulating device, and means responsive to changesof temperature in a portion of the system whlch exerts a difl'erentlalcontrol over the by-pass regulator and the fuel-regulating (le- Inwitness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 3d da of Se tiember,1901.

- A GUS US A. BALL, JR. Witnesses:

DUGALD MoK. MOKTLLOP, HEN Y O. WESTENDARP.

